All For Love
All for Love Year Written: 16th-18th Century 'Summary:' •"All for Love " is a narrative poem which tells of how the days of our youth are the grand and glorious days, but as we get older things ultimately end up changing. The narrator of the poem only ever took delight in the praises he received for his marvelous deeds because he wanted to gain the love and attention of a certain female, not because he wanted to hear people praising him. In the end, he feels that he is glorious because he gained her love. 'Theme:' •The poem'' All for Love'' by Lord George Byron is about how one cannot rely on past accomplishments because they loose their value over time and reveals that receiving pure and true love is the greatest accomplishment. Literary Devices •'Rhyme Scheme:' This poem has the scheme of AABB AABB AABB AABB because at the end of the stanzas the words have the same endings. In stanza 1, story and glory have the ending of -ory, and this is why the scheme is AABB. •'Symbol:' In line 14 "Her glance was the best of the rays that surround thee;" rays is being used to symbolize the brightness and happiness that the woman has brought the narrator. It made the story of his life bright and meaningful, and he knew it was true love and that, to him, was glorious. •'Diction:' By using words and phrases that are plain-spoken and uninhibited, such as saying "What care I for the wreaths that can only give glory?" , Bryon is able to create a forthright and pessimistic tone. 'Questions' 12.) What image from the poem is most helpful in conveying the overall meaning of the poem? • "'Tis but as a dead flower with May-dew besprinkled", which is line 6 of this poem, is most helpful in conveying the overall meaning of the poem because a dead flower won't be able to receive any benefits from watering; the water, though at one time was crucial to the flower, is now useless, just as a marvelous deed one fulfilled when young is good-for-nothing when years have passed. 13.) What is the poet’s purpose in writing this poem? •The author's purpose in writing this poem is to explain to the reader than one cannot always rely on past accomplishments. At one point in time, said accomplishments and achievements were something of value, but now that you are much older, they no longer have any worth. 14.) What is the tone of the poem? Is the tone consistent? •The tone of this can be described as candid and forthright, for the narrator is blunt in asking "What are garlands and crowns to the brow that is wrinkled?", meaning what do past achievements mean to someone is now old; line 6, which states "'Tis but as a dead flower with May-dew besprinkled" further emphasizes how past accomplishments have no meaning seeing as how they happened so long ago. The tone is consistent because the words he uses help to express the tone of the poem (mentioned above).